Efficient Evaluation Techniques for Topological Predicates on Complex Regions

Topological predicates between spatial objects have for a long time been a focus of intensive research in a number of diverse disciplines. In the context of spatial databases and geographical information systems, they support the construction of suitable query languages for spatial data retrieval and analysis. Whereas to a large extent conceptual aspects of topological predicates have been emphasized, the development of efficient evaluation techniques for them has been rather neglected. Recently, the design of topological predicates for different combinations of complex spatial data types has led to a large increase of their numbers and accentuated the need for their efficient implementation. The goal of this paper is to develop efficient implementation techniques for them within the framework of the spatial algebra SPAL2D.